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Re: Amps: Fender Mustang 3 vs. Line 6 Spider IV

I just tried the Fender SuperChamp HD. I didn't see much difference between that and my Vox Valvetronix VT30, except the Vox had more power. It's another solid state a single-tube preamp. Neither can get much of a crunch going, but both have good effects. Actually the little 15watt Peavy Vypyr had some beef to it... though I worry about reliability.

Re: Amps: Fender Mustang 3 vs. Line 6 Spider IV

Santiago, thanks for the post, and your insights.
This really shows how subjective (and maybe unit specific?) all this can be...On the day I first demo'ed the SCXD I also played through the 15W Peavey Vypyr (at the salesperson's recommendation [this line was deeply discounted at my GC]), and I wholeheartedly unimpressed. The Super Champ, on the other hand, just 'Rocked my World'.
So funny - This really shows how important it is to decide this stuff on one's own, with one's own ears.

c.1965 Harmony Monterey H410 Mandolin"What a long, strange trip it's been..." - Robert Hunter"Life is too important to be taken seriously." - Oscar Wilde
Think Hippie Thoughts...
Gear: The Current Cast of Characters

Re: Amps: Fender Mustang 3 vs. Line 6 Spider IV

I'm pretty sure the SCXD is tailor-made for guys like me - 40-something, getting back into electric, wants an amp that sounds like his old amp. This is not everyone. Plus, the range of tone-types available through amps/effects is v-e-r-y w-i-d-e, so it's no surprise at all to find one man's ideal tone leaves someone else uninspired.

Re: Amps: Fender Mustang 3 vs. Line 6 Spider IV

Originally Posted by Michael H Geimer

I'm pretty sure the SCXD is tailor-made for guys like me - 40-something, getting back into electric, wants an amp that sounds like his old amp.

Ain't that the truth! Problem is my old amp was a Marshall and it's just not a practical choice anymore <grins>. What got me started on all of this was finding out just how much the technology has changed in in 20+ years since I even used an amp. I bought my son one of those cheap Behringer amp modelers a couple of years ago and proceeded to have a blast just seeing what sounds one could make (and at a non-deafening sound level too!).

Re: Amps: Fender Mustang 3 vs. Line 6 Spider IV

Originally Posted by Michael H Geimer

I'm pretty sure the SCXD is tailor-made for guys like me - 40-something, getting back into electric, wants an amp that sounds like his old amp. This is not everyone. Plus, the range of tone-types available through amps/effects is v-e-r-y w-i-d-e, so it's no surprise at all to find one man's ideal tone leaves someone else uninspired.

Lost in a Riviera Paradise (of tone),

- MG

I agree that it's a very broad range of sounds, but that's due mostly to the on-board effects which give beginner players a lot of bang for the buck. The problem is I don't like the crunch sounds in any of these low-cost amplifiers. They're not true tube amps, they're cheap solid state amps with a single cheap tube added to the preamp section. I'm going to try to sell my VT 30 and invest in something that's actually a tube amp. I can add effects later, but you need to start with some sound. I haven't found it yet. If you have (and some have) more power to you! It is rather subjective.

Re: Amps: Fender Mustang 3 vs. Line 6 Spider IV

All true Santiago. I actually meant there is a wide range of tone styles out and about among *all* the different makes and models. (The SCXD is a bit of a one-trick pony IMHO even with its modeling. FWIW there are tubes at both the pre and power stages.)

Re: Amps: Fender Mustang 3 vs. Line 6 Spider IV

I should have known that the guy at guitar center would get it wrong on the post tubes. Thanks for the information Michael -- That does tend to differentiate the SChamp in that price range from what I know.

Re: Amps: Fender Mustang 3 vs. Line 6 Spider IV

The output section of the Fender Super Champ XD is all tube (2 @ 6V6). Also, The signal from the digital preamp dumps right into the 12AX7 preamp tube, so everything gets "warmed" by that traditional tube gain stage before it goes to the power stage.

There is no denying that it's a hybrid DSP/Tube amp, but one could argue that it's character is more tube than solid-state.

c.1965 Harmony Monterey H410 Mandolin"What a long, strange trip it's been..." - Robert Hunter"Life is too important to be taken seriously." - Oscar Wilde
Think Hippie Thoughts...
Gear: The Current Cast of Characters